Christopher J. Robertson

Ethical decision making in multinational organizations: A culture-based model

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between national culture and ethical decision making. Established theories of ethics and moral development are reviewed and a culture-based model of ethical decision making in organizations is derived. Although the body of knowledge in both cross-cultural management and ethics is well documented, researchers have failed to integrate the influence of cultural values into the ethical decision-making paradigm. A conceptual understanding of how managers from different nations make decisions about highly ethical issues will provide business ethics researchers with a sound theoretical foundation upon which future empirical inquiry can be based.

Beliefs about work in the Middle East and the convergence versus divergence of values

In this paper, 365 managers and employees from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman are queried about their work-related beliefs to determine the extent to which any of these countries may be experiencing a shift in cultural values. Results from the testing of various convergence versus divergence based hypotheses suggest that Saudi Arabia is more steadfast in its work beliefs while Kuwait and Oman appear to be more susceptible to influences by external forces.

An exploratory study of service value in the USA and Ecuador

In recent years, the significance of offering value to service customers rivals the provision of satisfaction and service quality. The growing importance of the construct is especially apparent in the fast food industry as evidenced by the international popularity of value menus offered by many fast food franchises. The service value trend is particularly relevant in Latin America as more multinational service franchises compete for newfound market share. Zeithaml, in her comprehensive analysis of the service value construct, suggests that service value perceptions emerge when consumers weigh their perceptions of service quality against the necessary sacrifices made to acquire the service. In the current study, this conceptual model is tested using samples derived from fast food consumers in both Ecuador and the USA. The objective is to perform an empirical test of Zeithaml’s model and to compare the relative importance attached to the components of her model across the two samples. An additional consideration is an analysis of the effect of gender on the purchase behaviour of these consumers. The research and managerial implications of the study are considered, as are the research limitations.

Situational ethics across borders: A multicultural examination

Managers throughout the world regularly face ethical dilemmas that have important, and perhaps complex, professional and personal implications. Further, societal consequences of decisions made can be far-reaching. In this study, 210 financial services managers from Australia, Chile, Ecuador and the United States were queried about their ethical beliefs when faced with four diverse dilemmas. In addition, the situational context was altered so the respondent viewed each dilemma from a top management position and from a position of economic hardship. Results suggest a complex interaction of situation, culture and issue when individuals make ethical judgments. Specifically, Chileans were found to have different beliefs about sex discrimination and child labor dilemmas when compared to their colleagues from the other three nations. Chileans and Australians also disagreed on the bribery dilemma. Anglo managers were more likely than Latin American managers to change their ethical responses when the situation was altered. For multinational firms interested in maintaining healthy ethical climates, the findings suggest that culturally contingent ethical guidelines, or policies adapted to the local customs, must be considered. Further, managers must remain aware of issues related to specific situations, both internal and external, that would cause subordinates to alter their moral judgment.

Strategic and Ethical Considerations in Managing Digital Privacy

Individualized customer information is at the heart of on-line commerce. Using increasing amounts of customer-specific data enhances the success and value of one-to-one on-line marketing; but the extensive gathering and use of data specific to individuals also causes alarm over the loss of digital privacy, setting up a confrontation between e-commerce and society. Governments and nations, particularly in Europe, have reacted with a reliance on sweeping laws governing digital privacy protection while other nations such as the U.S. have generally preferred to allow companies and industry associations to regulate themselves. This tenuous balance is under attack from both sides. In this paper, we set up a framework which incorporates the environmental context, ethical perspectives and firm-specific considerations to help firms develop a strategy for handling digital privacy concerns.

An uneasy alliance: planning and performance in nonprofit organizations

The research presented here contributes to our understanding of strategic planning and its relationship to performance in nonprofit organizations. Based on a sample of 303 nonprofit organizations, the study emphasizes individual and diverse elements of the planning process. Multiple measures of performance highlight a nonprofits need to garner resource contributions from several constituencies. Using factor analysis and canonical correlation analysis, we find a positive association between scope of planning and executive satisfaction and a negative association between administrative informality and volunteer involvement. Our results suggest that two critical resource contributors, executive directors and donors, may not value formalized decision-making and planning to the extent previously assumed.

Hard Facts About Software Piracy

Technological ease has made it quite simple to steal and distribute the intellectual property associated with the computer, video, and music industries. Whats the cost of such piracy? Who does it the most? Can anyone control it?

Exploring business ethics research in the context of international business

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to examine the scope, level and content of business ethics research in three leading international business (IB) journals: Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS), Journal of World Business (JWB) and Management International Review (MIR). A subsequent examination of comparable themes published in the Journal of Business Ethics (JBE) is performed to establish commonalities and gaps on the topic of IB ethics between the leading IB journals and the leading business ethics journal.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 42 articles are identified in JIBS, JWB and MIR that are deemed IB ethics research, and 62 articles in JBE over the same timeframe. A content analysis of these articles is conducted.Findings – The main thematic clusters in the three IB journals are ethical judgment analyses, violation of laws and regulations, national moral environments, and corporate governance. Codes of ethics are an underlying issue across many of these themes but this is not expl...

Outsourcing destination choices: the role of economic and cultural attributes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how country-of-origin (COO) perceptions of managers affect their provider selection for offshoring and offshore-outsourcing of services. In particular, it examines how economic and cultural attributes of the supplier’s host nation shape these choices and identifies whether these attributes have a substitutive, complementary, or competing relationship. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative study was performed using data collected from 235 managers in Saudi Arabia, which has relatively homogeneous managerial population with a clear significant cultural attribute and so presents an ideal setting to study the theory developed in this paper. Data were analyzed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance and a repeated-measures and doubly multivariate analysis of variance. Findings – Building on signaling theory, it is shown that buyers from developing countries prefer suppliers from developed rather than culturally distant developing economies as stro...

An Analysis of Perceptions of Western Corporate Governance Principles in Saudi Arabia

Managers working for multinational firms must evaluate the extent to which they should adapt corporate governance mechanisms to local markets or to pursue a one-size-fits-all approach. In 1999, the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance were endorsed by OECD ministers in an attempt to influence policymakers worldwide by setting global governance standards. Yet the level of approval and understanding of these principles in non-OECD nations is still unclear. In this study we develop and test a survey instrument in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to assess perceptions of OECD principles by 168 Saudi Arabian managers. Results suggest that Saudi Arabian perceptions of shareholder rights are positively related to a) maintaining an effective corporate governance framework and b) the effective monitoring of management by the board of directors. Managerial implications and future research directions are also discussed.